The Witch Head Nebula

This is a cool and always seasonably well timed nebula in the constellation Orion. It is located just to the right of the lower right hand star in Orion, Rigel. The shape of the blue area in the middle resembles a witch, with a large nose, chin, and hat.

The intense light coming from Rigel is refracting through the gas of the witch head nebula. Because cooler wavelengths of light like blue are scattered more easily, it makes the nebula appear blue. This is the same mechanism that makes our sky look blue.

Orion is a very busy place with many nebulae and awesome huge stars that dwarf our sun. Stay tuned for some more neat shots from the region.